ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A judge granted Michael Caruso — the suspended Palm Beach County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller accused of intra-familial child sex abuse — a $160,000 bond on Friday in Orange County.

Attorney Donna Rotunno, who represented Harvey Weinstein in New York, sat next to Caruso, 67, during the pre-trial detention hearing, before Orange County Circuit Judge A. James Craner, a former Gov. Rick Scott appointee.

While on the stand in court, Caruso’s wife, Tracy Caruso, said house arrest would include a “private elevator” and “a ton of security” in Palm Beach.

“Yes, he will return to that residence. I love him,” Tracy Caruso said in court.

Caruso served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2018 to 2025, when Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed him to his current position in Palm Beach. In February, Caruso announced that he was running to keep the job on Nov. 3.

Caruso didn’t have a Republican opponent during the primary. DeSantis suspended Caruso after his arrest, but that isn’t enough to remove him from the ballot. Caruso has not withdrawn.

Caruso faced charges of kidnapping, lewd or lascivious molestation, lewd or lascivious exhibition, luring or enticing a child, and child abuse causing mental injury, records show.

The investigation

Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputies talked to the victim, a boy younger than 12 years old, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent Reuben Roach included a video of an interview as evidence, according to the warrant.

During the hearing on Friday, Roach, who testified for the prosecution, said he was assigned the case on Dec. 9, 2025, and he spoke to the victim’s parents, who were concerned about their son’s behavior with a toddler sibling before their son disclosed Caruso’s sex abuse.

The alleged abuse happened while Caruso was alone with the boy in Orange and Palm Beach counties and during a Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas cruise that sailed from PortMiami on or about Aug. 24, 2025, according to the warrant.

While based at the Miami Regional Operations Center, Roach, who has more than two decades of experience, conducted recorded calls between Caruso and relatives who were familiar with the allegations, according to the warrant.

“Caruso admitted that he had isolated the victim during the cruise ... denied showering with the victim,” Roach, whose experience includes serving as chief of police in Norwich, New York, wrote, according to the warrant.

Caruso admitted he had faced intra-familial sex abuse accusations before, according to the warrant.

“He acknowledged knowing that his [relative] ... had accused him of sexually inappropriate behavior, including sexual battery,” Roach wrote about a conversation with a relative on Dec. 6, according to the warrant.

Roach reported that the victim was receiving psychological care in Orange County, and the victim’s family learned from an expert that the boy “exhibits responses consistent with trauma,” according to the warrant.

On Aug. 17, a judge issued a warrant for Caruso’s arrest. A judge recently ordered him to surrender his passport and to stay away from minors, the victim in the case, or witnesses.

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Judge grants bond for suspended Palm Beach clerk of court, Michael Caruso, accused of intra-familial child sex abuse

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